Edelbrock enters guilty plea to three of seven counts

TOLEDO — On Thursday, in U.S. District Court, Toledo, Jennifer Edelbrock entered guilty pleas to three counts of bank fraud. Originally charged on seven counts, Edelbrock, 51, Kalida, entered the pleas as the result of a deal with federal investigators.

The charges stemmed from a 2015 investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation into illegal activity Edelbrock conducted as an accountant. That investigation yielded grand theft charges filed against Edelbrock in both Allen and Putnam Counties. Edelbrock pleaded guilty in a Putnam County court on July 27, 2015, for the theft of $17,250 from the Kalida Band Boosters. She again pleaded guilty in an Allen County court on March 22, 2016, for the theft of $19,176.62 from Spencerville VFW Post 6772. Sentencing on the charges resulted in orders requiring Edelbrock to make restitution to both parties, serve 40 days jail time, and serve a concurrent term of three years on community control.

On April 6, federal investigators filed the seven counts of bank fraud. In the indictment, Edelbrock was accused of fraudulently appropriating funds from her clients’ bank accounts — monies supposedly held in trust for payroll expenses, including federal, state and local tax obligations — and depositing the funds into personally held bank accounts, credit card accounts and investment accounts, and one business account — All Seasons Lawn and Recreation LLC, held by her husband, John J. Edelbrock — “for her own enrichment.” The indictment further alleged Edelbrock spent directly from the payroll accounts to meet “personally-held debt obligations.”